Where to Rest your Head in East Africa

I get asked all of the time, "Where on earth do you sleep when you're on a humanitarian trip in East Africa?" "how do you sleep?" "is it safe?" "is it clean?"

The answer is we sleep in a bed, we sleep very well because we earn it, it is very safe, and relatively clean. To expand more on that answer we'll have to break it up a bit. Lodging in a city like Nairobi or the surrounding cities is extremely different than staying in a rural spot such as the Maasai Mara.

We work in or around Nairobi for the first week or two and we usually stay at Catholic mission guest houses. We work in Ruiru (Little Giants School) or Kayole (Candle Light School & Orphanage) for about 1-2 weeks depending on the need so we have to stay close to the city. The guest houses are dormitory like; two single beds, a desk, one private bathroom per room and a common dining room. We get to like our roommates very well!
The nuns provide our meals and wonderful conversation! During our last expedition we found a beautiful Catholic guest house to stay at and it's my new favorite, St. Frances Mission Hospital & School. The Mother and Sisters would prepare and eat a wonderful dinner with us and then watch Kenyan soap operas, commenting on how silly those girls are. Then the Mother spoke about how silly it would be go visit the Dead Sea, "It's dead! Why would you want to see it? It's...DEAD!" and then laugh the most contagious laugh I've ever heard. 

Occasionally our travels take us to different towns away from our Catholic missions and we "bunk" up at other hostels. We work so hard during the day we just request a clean & safe place to rest our heads. Most of all, we are grateful to be there to do the work needed to be done.

Once we are able to get out of the city and travel to the Maasai Mara in the Rift Valley I always feel like I am going home. My heart beats a bit faster and stronger and I can breathe!

We  traveled to the Maasai Mara, Nkoilale as a Board Fall 2013 to fine tune what projects we would focus on. We did stay in a Manyatta in our adopted Maasai Village. A Maasai Village is in a circular formation with a perimeter of acacia branches with large nasty thorns to keep the wild animals out. The center is made up of small houses made by the women from cow dung, mud, and straw. They are small houses but the temperature is usually right around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Cows stay in the middle because they are the most sacred to the entire village. Goats have their own pen in the circle but off to the side.  Baby goats have a special little room inside the Manyatta's. Animals are super important to the entire welfare of the village.

As you can see in this short clip the inside of our sleeping arrangements in a Manyatta. We didn't sleep much this night but we had a memorable time for sure!

The majority of the time while in the Maasai Mara we stay at tent camps. Meals are provided, the beds are clean and cozy, you can hear the wildlife yet the Maasai warriors are vigilant guards. We come back to our "home" before dark and have a very wonderful place to rest our heads. We are surrounded by friends, new and old, and we have earned a very restful night sleep. 

Volunteers always tell us that they love their experiences with us and that includes the food, lodging, and companionship. Our volunteers aren't just volunteers any longer, they are friends and family forever. 

If you're interested in volunteering and becoming part of the Tabibu Africa family, please click here for more information or email TabibuAfrica@aol.com

Karibu sana (very much welcomed)

www.TabibuAfrica.org

Follow us on Facebook     Follow us on Twitter    Follow us on Pinterest    Follow us on Google

Who are the Maasai?

"It takes one day to destroy a house; to build  a new house will take months and perhaps years. If we abandon our way of life to construct a new one, it will take thousands of years".

~Maasai belief.

 

The Maasai people of East Africa live in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania along the Great Rift Valley on semi-arid and arid lands. The Maasai occupy a total land area of 160,000 square kilometers with a population of approximately one half million people. Their lifestyle and culture greatly reflect the harsh environment in which they live, with unpredictable rainfall and difficult agricultural conditions as well as dangerous wild animals. Maasai are known also as the famous colorful people who have managed to hold on to their traditional way of life until present time.

Maasai men have a reputation of being fierce warriors in order to live in the harsh conditions of the Rift Valley. One of their well known traditions is their amazing jumping contests. Being the best jumper makes you a strong man and also something the women look for in a suitable husband. Anyone who has had the honor of witnessing the men's deep lion-like chant and dance understands the immense awe of this rich tradition.

 

 Maasai women are in charge of taking care of the entire home which includes milking cows, fetching water and firewood, preparing food for the entire family, repairing their homes, milking the cows and tending to the children. The women are truly at the heart of the family as well as the community. One of our greatest joys is working side by side with the women of the villages we serve, which is usually done with beautiful Maasai women's song.

 

Grandparents and elders are highly respected and honored as they are the teachers that pass on rich knowledge of traditional medicines, beliefs, rituals and traditions that touch every aspect of Maasai life. 

The dress of the Maasai is wonderfully colorful. Women commonly adorn themselves with great circular plate like beaded collars and head bands of many colors. Arms and ankles may be wound with thick strands of copper coils and beaded jewelry. Men are usually adorned in bright red blankets and cloth. Both men and women often elongate their ear lobes by fashioning them with heavy earrings and beaded ornaments. Ocher, a red mineral ground to a fine powder, is frequently mixed with cow fat and artfully applied to the face and body. While driving from the city to the Rift Valley we often know we are almost home in the Maasai Mara when we can see the figures of red in the distance. It is an amazing sight.

We have been the guests of several Maasai villages and hospitality is definitely their forte. Guests are always given the best food, drink, entertainment with stories and song, and the best beds. Manyattas (a Maasai home) is built by the women with sticks, mud and cow dung, with a hearth in the center. Beds are a hammock like out of rawhide, finished with fine blankets. One of our favorite nights while in Africa was the one we spent in a manyatta surrounded by African sounds. 

The Maasai culture is so rich and beautiful, there's too much to describe in one post or one story so we will continue to post more and more information. We hope to bring more information of this ancient people to light so that the culture can be preserved, honored, and respected.

 

"A man does not know when he is well off; it is only when he is poor that he remembers the days of plenty."  
~Maasai Proverb 

 Please donate to help continue our work

www.TabibuAfrica.org 

Donate to help continue our work